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Sep

Last weekend, we had ten Manatees compete in the Battle at CrossFit Havoc, a local competition hosted by our friends at CrossFit Havoc in Palmetto. Here are a few lessons I took away from the competition last weekend: Manatees are friendly beasts Our athletes made up just under 1/3 of the competitors (10/33), and we claimed…

There’s a special moment after a WOD. It’s fleeting and it’s delicate, but it’s always there. It’s the moment that your body realizes that the work is done, and that it can start re-building. Endorphins flood your bloodstream as your fight-or-flight response dies down, and there’s a moment where you can feel that everything is…

People sometimes think of CrossFit as an intimidating thing. They envision CrossFit gyms as boxes full of ultra-fit, cyborg-like supermen and superwomen. They think that if they go to a CrossFit class, they’ll be the only person there who can’t squat 500 pounds or who doesn’t know what a “high hang squat clean” is. This…

Lifting is simple: It’s you against the barbell. Muscle vs gravity. A complex and nuanced understanding of the subtleties of Olympic lifting technique vs the fact that the bar is really effing heavy. The finer points of the Olympic lifts take a lifetime to master, but in broad terms, this man-vs-metal fight is best won by…

You guys may have noticed that our website looks a little different. Big props to Jamie, Andrea, and the rest of their team at True Green Studios for making us famous on the internet! With the new website, things are going to work a little bit differently in regards to WOD posting and blog posts:…

Everything we do in the gym is simply an application of basic physics. Proper deadlift technique is designed to allow you to pick up the most weight possible with the least likelihood of injury. Proper snatch technique is designed to help you get that bar overhead with maximum efficiency and minimum mussing about. Your body is basically…

Reminder: Tonight is our super-special Friday Funday at Darwin Brewing Company. Come join us for good company and tasty local beer, starting at 7:30. Click here for more info. The whiteboard is an important piece of equipment in our gym. We use it to record your daily performance so we can track trends, see progress, and…

We welcome all comers at CrossFit Manatee. Some new members come to us with an extensive background in exercise and athletics, while others come to us after having spent decades doing nothing but sitting on their rear ends. Many new members come to CrossFit Manatee with a number of misconceptions, regardless of their previous level…

When CrossFit Manatee first opened, we had classes on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We were closed on Wednesday and Sunday. We did this for a couple of different reasons. On the fitness side, I wanted to structure our programming in a way that encouraged giving it your all on “work” days, and then giving…